[K3PZN-List] Argonaut vi on sale

Mon Jul 14 13:12:29 EDT 2014

Phil

well you are comparing c. 1990 dollars to now year dollars !  and maybe you don't wish to think about how much those rigs cost when they were new!  

An FT-757 was around $1000 when new, because I remember buying something else that was more in my price range then.  I remember the TS-50 being not much less than that.  25 years later I would have to look up the conversion factor.  

Yes the purchase of an exotic QRP-only rig is a question in itself.  With the caveat that my K2 has been upgraded to 100w, the most expensive QRP I now own cost around $200 - but 'only' does CW.  

The matter of how much to spend on a 100 watt rig now is driven by receiver performance.  Yes there are low end rigs around $800 (but only a few models), pretty good rigs for around $1300-1500 (TS-590 and FT-1200 to mention a couple examples) and of course more exotic rigs than these.  

one can try to make a case that Ten Tec and Elecraft are a little over-priced.  On the other hand, on CW I prefer using the receiver of an Elecraft or Ten Tec as they sound much better than some of the other rigs.  

good news is that our rigs tend to work for a long time, and cost a lot less than a car.  otherwise we all might be committed somewhere for our radio interest.  

In my imagination I would have time to home brew my own high performance rig.  I did choose to solder together my very nice K2 more than a decade ago -- if I were buying today not sure what would be in my shack (maybe a TS-590 perhaps or a modestly equipped K3).  

I guess my punch line for original message is my amazement at Ten Tec offering a 20-some percent discount (on their somewhat overpriced rigs, noting my bias that I don't own a ten tec rig).  We can hope its a trend.  I don't think they were bought to go out of the rig business -- let's see what happens from here.  

Meanwhile if someone had a 'requirement' for a 10 watt, multi-mode rig covering all but 12 and 6 meters - this would be a nifty candidate.  

CUL 73 

Curt

PS - apologies to those who really like Ten Tec a lot, some of my friends reading this!  I do really like that Argo VI - I just have enough rigs for the time I have to use them!  

On Monday, July 14, 2014 12:30 PM, Philip Karras via K3PZN-List <k3pzn-list at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

Still, at $800 that's more than I paid for either of my full power HF rigs. On the other hand they are OLD technology, no software anything in either rig, Kenwood TS-50 or my Yaesu FT-757 GXII. If it was ~ $500 I might jump but at $800 I have to think long and hard. It's probably all due to Ten Tec being bought out.

73 de KE3FL,
Phil
AEC Carroll County
OES, ORS, & VE
http://cs.yrex.com/ke3fl
Karras' Corner: http://blog.solidsignal.com/content.php/1005-karras-corner

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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 13:24:27 -0700
From: Curt Milton via K3PZN-List <k3pzn-list at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: [K3PZN-List] Argonaut vi on sale

A coworker told me tentec had a sale going on and I did not
believe him.? A decent markdown I might add.? I don't need
another qrp rig but anyone considering a multiband qrp rig
should check that out.? I got to operate one at field day
and was extremely impressed.? Of course tentec sells direct
so see their website to see other rigs also on sale.? 

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73 de K3PZN Westminster, MD
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